Text 1668, 205 rader
Skriven 2007-06-13 05:15:56 av Texas (8:8/2)
Ärende: Divine Cultivation
==========================
From: "Texas" <texas@familynet-international.org>


       Faith's Checkbook

      Divine Cultivation
      C.H. Spurgeon
      Jun 12, 2007





June 13



"I the LORD do keep it; I will water it every moment: Lest any hurt it, I will
keep it night and day" (Isaiah 27:3).



When the LORD Himself speaks in His own proper person rather than through a
prophet, the word has a peculiar weight to believing minds. It is Jehovah
Himself who is the keeper of His own vineyard; He does not trust it to any
other, but He makes it His own personal care. Are they not well kept whom God
Himself keeps?



We are to receive gracious watering, not only every day and every hour "but
every moment." How we ought to grow! How fresh and fruitful every plant should
be! What rich clusters the vines should bear!



But disturbers come; little foxes and the boar. Therefore, the LORD Himself is
our Guardian, and that at all hours, both "night and day." What, then, can harm
us? Why are we afraid! He tends, He waters, He guards; what more do we need?



Twice in this verse the LORD says, "I will." What truth, what power, what love,
what immutability we find in the great "I will" of Jehovah! Who can resist His
will? If He says "I will," what room is there for doubt? With an "I will" of
God we can face all the hosts of sin, death, and hell. O LORD, since Thou
sayest, "I will keep thee," I reply, "I will praise Thee!"



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How To Die Safely


Daryl Wingerd


Seven men were working near a pipe carrying highly-pressurized water in a
coal-burning power plant when, without warning, the pipe ruptured. The
super-heated water inside the pipe turned to scalding steam, killing one man
instantly and burning several others severely. One of the burn victims died two
days later.



The hazards related to high-pressure steam in these power plants are
frightening. Even a tiny hole in a high-pressure pipe can release a knife-like
spray that is nearly invisible and so powerful that anyone walking through it
would be severely lacerated and burned. For this and other reasons, power
plants are dangerous places to work.







As one would imagine, the workers in a power plant environment are taught to be
intensely safety conscious. Hard hats and safety goggles are always required,
along with protective shoes, heavy gloves, and fall-protection harnesses when
necessary. Still, despite safety precautions, accidents happen, in power plants
as well as in other work places. According to the International Labor Office,
1.7 million people were killed worldwide in workplace accidents in 2005.
Another 268 million were injured in non-fatal work related accidents.



Then there are traffic accidents. Automotive science has given us airbags,
seatbelts, and anti-lock brakes, but they are not always enough. It is
estimated that 1.2 million people are killed annually in traffic accidents, and
another 48 million are injured. Add to this the numbers killed in airplane
crashes, boating accidents, and recreational mishaps, as well as the multitudes
who die from cancer, heart disease, and other physical ailments, despite health
education and medical technology.







The fact is, life is dangerous. Appropriate safety precautions are always
necessary. Even in the "safety" of our homes we install smoke-detectors,
electrical circuit breakers in bathrooms and kitchens, and safety latches on
cabinets to keep children away from medicines and chemicals. If one is
appropriately cautious, many accidents can be avoided. It is possible, in other
words, to live safely. The woman who wears her seatbelt is more likely to live
to a ripe old age than the one who doesn't. The man who avoids smoking is much
less likely to die of lung cancer. But no one can live safely forever. The
death rate among humans stands at a consistent 100%. Everybody dies.
Furthermore, no matter how careful you are, the moment of your death is not
ultimately yours to determine, but God's.



The Bible actually speaks of two deaths. These will be distinguished from each
other on the final day of judgment (cf. Rev. 20:11-15). The first death is
physical death, which everyone will face and which no safety precautions can
delay indefinitely. But after the first death, on a day fixed by God, all the
dead, including you and me, will be raised to face the Judge of the universe.
On that day, many will be thrown into "the lake that burns with fire and
brimstone, which is the second death" (Rev. 21:8; cf. 20:15). Jesus described
the destiny of these people elsewhere, saying, "These will go away into eternal
punishment" (Matt. 25:46). The second death is not as much a termination of
life as it is the beginning of an eternal, hopeless, and infinitely miserable
existence under the wrath of a just and holy God.



Given this reality, our greatest concern should not be how to live safely, but
how to die safely. Every sensible person should shudder when thinking about
hell and God's judgment of unrepentant sinners in the lake of fire. And since
we must all experience the first death in one way or the other, it is
imperative that we learn how to avoid the second death.



The following passages from the Bible bring this matter into sharp focus.
Please do not read them lightly. As careful as you may be during this life,
your eternal safety is determined according to these truths:



For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever
believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:16).



He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son
will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. (John 3:36).



God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because
He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a
Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him
from the dead. (Acts 17:30-31)



And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes
judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many,
will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who
eagerly await Him. (Hebrews 9:27-28)





Copyright C 2007 Daryl Wingerd. Permission granted for reproduction in exact
form. All other uses require written permission www.CCWonline.org






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